The volume of retail sales in Scotland grew by 0.2 per cent in the three months to June though the value of sales was flat, new official figures show.

The latest Retail Sales Index from Scotland’s Chief Statistician suggest retail volume sales in Scotland trialled the 1.0 per cent growth recorded for Great Britain as a whole, where equivalent retail value growth was 0.1 per cent in the period.

Compared with the same period a year ago, Scottish retail sales by volume were up 3.2 per cent against growth of 3.9 per cent for Great Britain as a whole, and the value of sales, without adjusting for inflation, rose 0.7 per cent against equivalent growth of 0.3 per cent in Great Britain.

The figures are calculated based on money going through tills in the retail sector and the amount of goods bought, which is adjusted for inflation and derived from a survey of around 5,000 retailers across Great Britain.